Versions · what we’re building and why
Versions
A running log of how the pattern engine is changing — written for knitters, not engineers. Have a look and tell us if the plan matches what you’d want from a pattern.
A schematic that looks like your sweater
Next up: the schematic will show the real shape of each piece (neck scoop and shoulders), with labels tied back to the measurements you entered.
- BetterThe schematic will show the real shape of each piece (neck scoop and shoulders), with labels tied back to the measurements you entered.
The math, shown — and a clearer workbench
This round is about trust and clarity: the pattern now shows its own reconciliation, the workbench explains what it is doing as you go, and a working knitter’s review of the live page drove the fixes. You can see the numbers add up rather than take our word for it.
- NewYour generated pattern now includes a “The Math, Checked” section: the cast-on and finished chest, and the sleeve, armhole, neck, and row counts, each recomputed from your gauge and chart and shown reconciling to the numbers the pattern prints.
- BetterThe fit calculator spells out “your chest + ease = finished chest.” Enter any two and the third is worked out; edit the finished chest and it tells you it is now a manual override.
- BetterThe chart editor gained guardrails: a Flip-vertical button for charts pasted top-down, a note that Row 1 is the bottom row, a warning when rows are uneven, and a live row and stitch count as you type.
- BetterThe yarn estimate now leads with how many skeins to buy, states the buffer it includes, and reminds you to buy them in one dye lot.
- BetterClearer from the first screen: what the tool makes is stated up front (one intarsia motif, knit flat and seamed, front only), generating is free with no account needed, and each ease preset says how it will feel to wear.
- BetterA gentle heads-up if the gauge you enter is unusual for the yarn weight you picked — it never blocks you, it just suggests double-checking your blocked swatch.
- FixCentimetre conversions now match the gauge. Knitting gauge is set as 4 in = 10 cm, so a finished chest that is 44 in at gauge is exactly 110 cm — the sweater your stitches make. An earlier update had changed this to 112 cm; that overstated the metric size (the fabric never reaches it), so it is reverted. Centimetres round to the nearest half — the marks on a real tape.
- BetterYour measurements stay yours: the “would you cast on?” note no longer carries them, a copied share link tells you it includes the measurements you entered, and publishing a project page warns you before it goes live.
- BetterPlainer about data and access: the page states it collects anonymous usage analytics with a one-click opt-out, the licence choices are clearer with the free option as the default, and the accessibility of the page improved (colour contrast, screen-reader labels, and a keyboard-navigable chart grid).
Clearer, more trustworthy patterns
Shaped by a working knitter’s review of real generated patterns — twice over: she reviewed the fixes too, and her corrections are in. The focus of this round is correctness and clarity, so you can knit straight from the pattern without double-checking the math in your head.
- FixNeck and shoulder shaping is rewritten so every bind-off names its edge and its row (right- or wrong-side), both sides of the neck are written out in full — no more “reverse all shaping” — and every row count printed is one your needles can actually reach.
- FixYarn weight follows the gauge you enter instead of always printing “worsted.” If your gauge sits between two weights, you choose — your ball band wins.
- BetterYou can give your pattern its own name, printed at the top of the page and the PDF.
- BetterThe odd “size: 44 in chest” line is replaced with a proper “one size — made to your measurements” note.
- BetterStitch counts at the end of rows are bold — easy to spot at a glance.
- BetterThe selvedge (edge-stitch) instruction answers the question directly: work edge stitches plainly, taken into the seams — no slipping.
- BetterInstructions arrive where you can act on them: swatching and sleeve-measuring guidance lives on the design form, and the finished pattern states facts instead of giving advice that comes too late.
Accounts and Wool & Numbers Pro
Sign-in and the Pro unlock are switched on. Single-size personal patterns stay free — always. Pro is for graded size ranges and for knitters who sell what they make.
- NewSign in with an email link — no password to invent, nothing to remember. Save projects and measurement profiles to your account and pick them up on any device.
- NewShare a finished design with its own public page — entirely opt-in, nothing is public unless you publish it.
- NewWool & Numbers Pro: a graded size range — one pattern, written out in up to 12 sizes. Selling the items you knit is always free. A $29 one-time unlock, paid securely through Stripe. No subscription.
Sturdier under the hood
A reliability and safety round — almost nothing looks different, and that's the point. The tool now fails clearly instead of quietly when it's given something it can't use, and the foundations are ready for the pattern improvements in v0.2.
- NewThis Versions page — a plain-language log of what's changing in the engine, linked from the header and footer.
- BetterWhen a form entry can't be used — a number or colour sent in a shape the engine can't read — the error now names the field to fix instead of failing with a blank server error.
- FixColour codes are checked the same strict way everywhere (#abc or #aabbcc): a mistyped colour now falls back to the standard palette instead of slipping through into your chart and PDF.
- BetterSaved work is guarded against cross-site tampering: the server refuses account changes that don't come from the Wool & Numbers page itself.
- BetterThe database now versions itself and upgrades in place between releases, so an update can never lose saved work.
- BetterThe web app was reorganised into focused modules — invisible from the outside, but it makes the v0.2 pattern improvements faster and safer to ship.
The pattern engine
The first public version. Enter your gauge, finished measurements, and a colour chart, and get a complete, knitter-ready pattern for a drop-shoulder intarsia pullover.
- NewFull written pattern with line-by-line instructions and running stitch counts.
- NewColour chart drawn at the true knitted aspect ratio, plus a labelled schematic of the pieces.
- NewPrintable PDF, and an estimate of how many skeins you’ll need (with a safety margin) from your gauge and yards-per-skein.
- NewOne-click sharing with a preview card.